Former President Barack Obama targeted President Donald Trump in his speech Thursday at the funeral for Democratic Georgia Rep. John Lewis, criticizing his successor’s handling of the George Floyd protests.
Obama highlighted Trump’s decision to send federal agents to Portland, saying they used “tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators,” as well as Trump’s opposition to increased funding for the postal service given how necessary it may be on November 3rd.
OBAMA: “John Lewis devoted his time on this Earth devoted to fighting the very attacks on democracy and what’s best in America that we’re seeing circulate right now.”pic.twitter.com/34gMQF5jNY
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) July 30, 2020
“Even as we sit here there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations, and targeting minorities and students with restrictive I.D. laws, and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision, even undermining the postal service in the run-up to an election that’s gonna be dependent on mail-in ballots so people don’t get sick,” Obama said.
Obama’s speech came hours after Trump suggested the possibility of delaying the election in a tweet on Thursday morning. however, even Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill quickly shot down the idea. (RELATED: As Pence Campaigns In Pennsylvania For The Third Time In Two Months, Another Poll Shows Trump Down In The State)
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said the November 3rd election date is set in stone.
“Never in the history of this country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time,” he said Thursday. “We will find a way to do that again this November 3rd. We will cope with whatever the situation is and have the election on November 3rd as already scheduled.”